BERLIN: The flood of online offers for people wanting to plan their holidays is driving them away from the internet and into travel agents’ offices, the German Travel Association (GTA) says.
“I believe that many customers are feeling increasingly overwhelmed when evaluating the numerous offers online and are turning their backs on the internet,” Ralf Hieke, the association’s president, told DPA.
The revenue of travel agents climbed by three percentage points to a record value of 23.7 billion euros ($A35.22 billion) over the course of 2015.
The number of bricks-and-mortar travel agents rose last year for the second year running to a total of 9,880 in Germany. In 2013, there were 9,729.
Nonetheless, the online travel industry is also growing.
An estimated 35.5 per cent of holiday bookings were made online in 2015, compared to 28.6 per cent three years ago, the GTA reported, citing a study carried out by a travel research institute.
